Sorry this didn't come out yesterday! Chapter title from One Call Away by Charlie Puth.

I kinda experimented in this chapter, in the parts 8.3 and 8.4. I really hope you guys like it and please let me know if you want more stuff like in those parts! Also, rest assured that I will be doing social media stuff again, since that was such a big hit last time.

To ahyeon - Thanks! I'll be honest, I liked Marcel as a cat, but the idea of him being a little boy was more appealing for this version. I have big plans for him.

To Annie - I changed the order! Kol won't be dead last, but he will be in the bottom three :) Also, I really like the idea of a supportive ex bf, so expect one of those soon ;)

To garglyswoof - Lol thanks! It's good to know that you like my OC's and the details I'm putting in. I really appreciate the praise (as well as being called ballsy, which is definitely a first for me). I honestly squealed when I read your reviews!

WARNINGS: slight anxiety, talk of the Holocaust and the losses connected to that (8.3), death of a friend and some references to sex (8.4), pregnancy and accompanying hormones, and after all that, fluff! Seriously so fluffy you make puke.

8.2 - March 30th, 2013; Stanford, California, USA

Elijah bit his lip as the phone rang. He was sure of his choice to call, but he was still nervous. His fingers fiddled with the throw pillow, wondering what was about to happen.

The phone call clicked on, and he said, "...I'm calling for the Mikaelson Manhunt."

Feeling like Niklaus and his uncertainty, Elijah cringed, hoping that was the right thing to say.

A male voice said jovially, "oh! Do you have a tip?"

Elijah cleared his throat. "Actually, I'm calling because I am Elijah Mikaelson."

There was a gasp, a delighted one, and the man said, "oh my goodness, really?"

Elijah lets out a little chuckle, fingers letting the pillow go to run through his hair. "Yes, really. I'm sure you want proof, though. Just to be sure."

The man, who he assumed was Leif Trulsson, clicked his tongue. "Just send a picture of yourself to this number and write your birthday and my name on the paper. My name is Leif Trulsson," he said.

Elijah couldn't help but think that it was a weird way to get proof. There was lots of room for error and surely they saw that? He shook his head at himself, though, willing to do it if it would actually get him connected to family.

"Okay," he replied, "I'll do that in just a second. Is there anything else I need to - "

"No, no, that's fine for now. I'll call you back after you send your proof, and then we'll go from there."

The whole situation was a little odd, but Elijah dismissed it. "Okay, I'll go do that now."

He hung up and repurposed a sheet of homework for his proof. Leif Trulsson, he wrote, my birthday is March 14th, 1985.

He sent it, getting a thank you text back. He waited for several minutes, which he spent rearranging the coffee table and checking on Matthew.

When his phone rang, he scrambled to get it, answering it as quickly as he could. "Hello?"

Leif said, "I don't know if you know this, but you are the spitting image of myself when I was your age, except I had blonde hair."

Elijah let out a shocked little laugh at the man's - his grandfather - tone. "So does that mean that I passed the test?"

Leif laughed, too. "Yes, yes you did. Now, do you want to talk to your siblings? They're eager to talk to you."

Elijah's eyes grew hot within a second, but when he said, "yes, of course," his voice was strong and the tears stayed where they were.

8.3 - Going Home (2010)

Ezra's tears made his face shine. His cousin, Wolfgang, looked on uncomfortably, unsure of how to comfort this man whom he had just met.

"Did you...do you remember them?" Wolfgang finally asked, eyes dropping the second Ezra's came up. He couldn't make himself look into the haunted eyes of his cousin, knowing what horrors befell the man. Wolfgang was a coward, he knew, but he didn't care. He wouldn't look into those eyes, especially not now. Especially not when the memories were all at the surface again.

"No," he sighed. "I don't. I've forgotten them," he said, voice crackling sadly. "How can someone forget their own parents? How, Wolfgang?"

"You were only a boy," his cousin tried, reaching out a hand. "I'm sure wherever they are - "

"Don't give me that bullshit," he barked, shrugging out from under the other man's hand. "Don't tell me they're looking over me, or they're in a better place. I don't want to hear it."

Wolfgang sighed, dragging a hand over his face. "Ezra - "

"Just, just shut up. Please. I don't want to talk anymore."

"Fine," Wolfgang relented, taking a seat next to his cousin. Ezra was a foreign thing to him, as bad as that sounded. American, Jewish, an emotional wreck. The boy he'd known as a child was long gone, replaced by this person who had let the war creep into every part of himself.

Sitting in front of the graves, the empty ones, Wolfgang could see exactly how he had changed. The last time they'd done this, it was their grandfather's grave. Ezra had said something like how he was sure Grandfather would be glad that he didn't have to see his little Jew grandson cry.

Now, sitting in front of the graves of Wolfgang's aunt and uncle - Ezra's parents - Ezra wasn't joking, at his own expense or otherwise.

One thing hadn't changed, though - Ezra was a talker.

"They would hate what I've become," he whispered. "They would be so disappointed."

Wolfgang kept silent, not daring to speak.

"They wanted me to become a good German doctor, or lawyer, or something, something respectable. And now I'm just an American nut case who has no real job and does everything he can to pretend they didn't exist." He sniffled, wiping his eyes as he gazed at the headstones. "It's easy, you know. It's so easy to pretend that I was born in America, that I got this tattoo as a homage to relatives I'm not directly descended from. It's so easy to pretend that Jimmy and Mary are my real parents.

"I hate that," he confessed, sobs leaving him uncontrollably. "I hate this."

Wolfgang sighed, and rubbed his back. "I know," he murmured, unsure what else he could possibly do.

[...]

"Oh my god, Cole, I just got shivers," the host, Ellen, said.

Kol smiled, "thanks!"

"Of course," she replied easily. "Your acting was so convincing there! And for you only being nineteen, that's amazing."

Her praise brought a blush to Kol's cheeks that he couldn't stop. He licked his lips a little self-consciously. "I really appreciate that," he said, insecurities telling him he needed to stop being a broken record.

Ellen shifted in her seat, "so, can I ask where you got your inspiration from for Ezra? I'm sure other actors are watching this wondering how you acted that scene out so well."

Kol shrugged. "I mean, I didn't have family in the Holocaust as far as I know, but I have experience with losing parents young."

The crowd and Ellen made sad noises. "What happened?" She asked gently.

"They were murdered," he said, wishing it were completely true.

Ellen asked a few more questions, about his parents and the movie. When time was up, she said, "don't forget to see Going Home starring Cole Henderson this Friday!"

8.4 - The Effect Of Apathy (2012)

Jude was just pulling up his pants when the guy he'd spent the night with called, "you got a text from 'David eggplant emoji'."

"Will you read it outloud?" He asked while he searched for his shirt.

The guy shrugged, reading, "'Jude, I know this isn't something you should be told over text, but last night, Andrew got into a car wreck and this morning he died.' Holy shit," the guy said. Jude looked at him, stunned and horrified. He stumbled over, grabbing for his phone.

"What the fuck?" He said, "what the actual - "

"Dude," the guy said, delicious accent wrapping around Jude's emotions. His hands came down on Jude's bare shoulders warmly. "I think you should text David and find out where Andrew is, and go there. Like, I know we just met last night and all, so you don't have to listen to me, but that's what I would do."

Jude pulled away, the feeling on the guy's thumbs drawing circles into his flesh making him uncomfortable. He shrugged, shocked, "I'll think about it," he said. "I have to leave, though. I have to leave." His throat closed up, thinking about his best friend, the guy he'd called brother for years. "Bye," he said almost incoherently, before bolting, leaving the one-night-stand naked and confused.

[...]

"You know, when we did that scene, you looked so distraught, I could've sworn that someone had really died," Enzo said into Kol's chest.

Kol closed his eyes, the feeling of Enzo's hand on his abs under his shirt too good to keep them open. "That was one of my best movies, everyone says so."

Enzo laughed at his haughty tone. "Well, I certainly agree with them."

Kol pushed at his shoulders, laughing as well now. "You're only saying that because you were my first sex scene."

"And what a marvelous time it was," Enzo countered. "I can honestly say that I've never loved showing my sex moves to a crew of people more than I did with you."

Kol grinned. "I bet you'd have even more fun if you showed me your moves without the crew," he suggested, trying not to lay on the seduction too thick.

Enzo made a noise that Kol was very interested in. "What a great idea, gorgeous," he murmured, dipping down. "If anyone asks, we're practicing."

Kol was going to say something snarky back, but then Enzo did something with his mouth that made him extremely less interested in being sassy.

April 3rd, 2013

6.1 - Denver, Colorado

Rebekah loves Frederick, she truly does. But if he makes one more damn comment about how angry she's getting at the glitter explosion in the classroom, she's going to scream.

"This is not funny!" She starts at a normal volume, but ends with a screech.

Fred doubles over, hands on his knees, crying with laughter.

She flicks glitter at him. He straightens and gives her a betrayed look.

"Bekah? How could you?" He sounds affronted.

She raises a perfectly sculpted eyebrow. "You threw it at me first! You know me, I always defend myself." She puffed her chest out proudly.

He nods, and rubs at the glitter like it'll actually ever leave his clothes instead of staying until the end of time. Sigh. This is why he needs me, Rebekah thinks. He says, rubbing at his eyes, "I know that sweetie, but...did you have to aim for my face?"

She stares at his him in sudden horror, seeing how his eyes are watering. "Oh my god…." She puts a hand over her mouth, suddenly in tears. Her breath hitches with a sob as she wails, "I hurt you!"

Fred's smiles slides off his face. He rushes forward, and wraps his arms around her. She sobs into his neck, thoughts going through all of the bad things that glitter in the eye could result in.

"It's okay, Bekah, I'm fine. I was just teasing you, I promise. There's nothing in my eyes. We're okay, I'm okay, you can stop crying now…."

"Augh, I'm sorry, I'm sorry." She pulls away and wipes her tears off. "Damn hormones," she whispers. She knows her students will be back in class soon, as well as the teacher of the room. Neither she nor Mrs. Williams will want to explain why she's crying.

He shushes her. "I told you, it's fine. I can handle a mood swing or two, I promise."

She smiles at him, overjoyed that this is the man she's going to spend the rest of her life with. She really made a great choice.

Mr. H, Fred's main teacher, pops his head into the room. "C'mon, Freddy, class is about to start. You and Bekah need to get back into teacher mode."

Fred nods. With a grin, he responds, "gotcha Tom. I'll be right there." Mr. H gives them a smile and moves towards his classroom. His palm rests on her cheek for a moment, and she leans into it. They share a quick peck of a kiss, which definetly calms her down. Then he slips off to his classroom.

She's still standing there, eyes closed, when the first of the kids come in with Mrs. Williams. Two of them are talking about something adamantly. Curious, she moves closer to them, to hear what they're saying.

Amelia says, "they found 'Lijah! Can you believe it?"

Robert shakes his head. "Mmm-mm. Plus, they're going in order."

"What?" Amelia's eyes get wide.

"Yeah! First Finn, then Freya, then Elijah. See? They're in order, which means Niklaus is next."

"You're stupid," Amelia accuses. "They were born like this: Freya, Finn, 'Lijah, Niklaus, Kol, Rebekah, and Henrik. That's not in order."

Robert opens his mouth, ready to call Amelia stupid. Rebekah cuts in quickly, not wanting a shouting match to happen before class starts up again. "What are you kids talking about," she asks, crouching down a little. Her stomach gets in the way of her getting down to their level completely.

Robert brightens up, apparently excited to talk about this subject. "The Mikaelson Manhunt!"

Rebekah coughs on her own spit. "Mikaelson?"

Amelia nods. Robert asks, "have you heard, Mrs. Bell? These old viking people are looking for their grandkids! And they just found another one a few days ago!"

She'd heard the names, but written them off. Hearing them now, connected to the last name Mikaelson, well, she's sure it's no coincidence.

"Wow! That sounds very interesting," she says. She won't bother to find out anything now - she'll do that when she gets home. She has to make sure, after all. Her memories of her time before are spotty at best; there could be no correlation, though she seriously doubts it.

Robert and Amelia talk to her for a few more minutes before Mrs. Williams starts up class.

Rebekah doesn't have any time to think of the possibilities, not with kids always needing her or wanting her attention. It still plagues her thoughts in what few free moments she has.

2.2

Finn locks himself into the office downstairs, excitement bubbling up in his chest.

Since he called the Leifsons, he's talked to them several times. He's even talked to Freya a few times, his heart beating at 100 MPH each time.

But today, he's going to talk to Freya and Elijah. At the same time.

Needless to say, he's so excited, he could puke.

He finds that his hands are shaking as he turns on Skype and waits for the call.

Sage had told him, earlier when they were sending the kids out the door, that he needed to make sure he was cool, calm, and collected. Easy for her to say, he'd teased.

She rolled her eyes at him, told him he would regret it if his excitement took away from the moment.

He's starting to get that now. Even though he can acknowledge it, though, doesn't mean that he's not practically beaming when Freya video calls him.

He accepts it, of course, delighted to see his sister again. When they'd first talked, he's been shocked at what she looked like now. This time, he smiles at her and notes the dark circles under her eyes are lighter than last time.

She's excited, too, he can tell. "Hi," she waves, "Elijah should be on soon. Aerona gave me his username." She looks down at something on her desk that he can't see, then turns her attention back to him.

He shrugs, leaning back in his seat and feigning nonchalance. "Maybe he's running late?"

"Maybe," she says, mimicking his posture. "In the meantime, how have you been?"

Finn usually hates recounting his days, but he wants Freya to know about him, his life. He's found that telling her about his kids and his job is more fun than he'd thought possible.

He tells her about how Lacey begged and pleaded to shave her legs, which Freya finds hilarious.

"No seven year old needs to shave," he says, repeating what he'd said to his daughter. "I can't believe she thought she's old enough."

Freya giggles, getting ready to say something; he attention is caught by her screen. His breath catches in his throat as she says, "okay, I'm adding him."

Both Finn and Freya wait nervously for the call to connect, and when it does and Elijah's face fills half the screen, they're both smiling so wide it hurts.

Elijah's eyes flick between their faces, while Finn can't focus on anything but his brother.

"Hi," Elijah says after a long moment, sounding uncharacteristically shy. In Finn's mind, Elijah is a presence no one ignores, if only because he won't let them. Sure, he liked to hide, to be in the background so he could eavesdrop. But Elijah made himself known, no matter where he was, and seeing him shy is odd.

Freya laughs, a little wetly. "Hi, Elijah."

"Oh my god," he says, dragging a hand through his hair, "I never thought I'd get to talk to you two again. It's so nice to see you both."

Finn, who is admittedly feeling choked up, says, "it's so nice to see you, too. This is one of the best things that's ever happened to me."

"Same," Freya adds, making them both laugh.

Elijah says, with complete sincerity, "Freya, you're beautiful."

Freya blushes, clearly still insecure. "Thanks. You don't look too shabby yourself."

Elijah laughs. "Please, this is far from my best look."

"I kinda like the beard," Finn says, even though he doesn't. No harm in boosting up a siblings' confidence, right?

Elijah seems to see right through him, but says "thanks", anyway.

They talk for a little while longer, about inconsequential things.

Then Elijah looks off to the side and calls, "Katerina, come here."

"Are we about to meet your wife?" Freya asks anxiously. She's put off meeting Sage because it makes her too nervous. Sage, his beautiful angel of a wife, is understanding and hasn't tried to meet Freya yet.

Elijah sees that - "If you don't want to, then we can wait," he says kindly, clearly keeping Katerina from coming into view.

Finn can read Freya like a book, even all these years later. She doesn't want to say wait to him, but she also doesn't want to meet anyone right now. It's either be polite or put herself through an anxiety attack.

Eventually, she quietly says, "please?"

Elijah nods, looking away. "Maybe tomorrow, love." He looks back at them. "Would you like to meet my son? He's only two."

Freya shrugs. "Okay. And please tell your wife that it's not her, it's me. I haven't met Finn's wife either."

Elijah relays the information, looking upon the woman lovingly. Finn definitely wants to meet the girl that Elijah's this smitten with.

Then there's a little boy in Elijah's lap, and Finn focuses on the fact that he's got another nephew.

"This is Matthew," Elijah says proudly, waving at them until the little boy follows suit. "Can you say hi, Matthew? Hi?"

Matthew looks at them both curiously, then screeches, "hi!"

Elijah lets out a shocked laugh that Finn hasn't heard enough of. "Oh my god, Matthew! You said hi!"

"Was that the first time he said it?" Both Finn and Freya ask at the same time.

"He's so precious," Freya adds, cooing at the baby.

Matthew giggles, saying "hi!" repeatedly.

Elijah looks so happy, he could burst. He tickles Matthew, who shrieks with laughter, leaving Freya and Finn to watch. Finn isn't sure about Freya, but he himself is bursting with affection for his brother who he hasn't seen in so long, and his nephew, who he can't wait to meet. He shares a smile with Freya, who looks relaxed and happy watching the adorable display.

Finn thinks, this is definitely one of the best things to ever happen to me.